Handmaid’s Tail Playlist The Power of Music in a World Without

Control by Halsey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8V5dAli-Q - This song by Halsey explores the themes of bodily autonomy and power within someone’s body. It also circles in on manipulation over someone’s body. The key lyrics in the song discuss wanting control and then losing it, this mirrors Offred’s experience in Gilead. The Words “Find who I am again” relates to the handmaids being stripped of their identities to be put in a box. Offred says “To be seen is to be penetrated” These themes highlight all the handmaids’ feelings when it comes to their responsibilities. The power that is held above their heads by the commanders and wives. It reveals a hunting dystopian essence to the song and book, about women, their bodies and mind manipulation in all of Gilead.

Sad Girl by Lana Del Ray- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvm6DpqqbLk&list=RDjvm6DpqqbLk&start_radio=1 This song’s exploration of being trapped in a predetermined role resonates with the handmaid’s situation. As Lana describes feeling locked into a specific identity and relationship dynamic, just like the handmaids are forced into roles defined by their fertility. The song’s undercut of preformative femininity also connects to how Offred must perform a very specific way in Gilead. Being compliant with the rules and regulations of the society while hiding their true identities. Offred reminisces on times where she didn’t have to hide herself. The memories of those she loved and the feeling of being close to something. Lana highlights the point of being trapped into a desired relationship, which to me relates to how Offred currently feels with the commander. A quote that highlights the burden of what love or lust has become/ “It’s not about passion or love or romance” This is shared during the ceremony. Additionally, the song’s themes of feeling isolated and emotional numbness reflects on the physiological state of the handmaids. As they are cut off from real desired human connection.

Pink Matter by Frank Ocean- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaLV003llhY&list=RDuaLV003llhY&start_radio=1 Pink Matter is a rather unique spin on Offred’s love life. Reaching in on relationships and physical intimacy which resonates with Offred’s complicated feelings about the various relationships in her life. Like her memories of Luke, her dangerous attraction to Nick, and even the twisted dynamic with the Commander during their private meetings. Like the song, Offred’s narrative often dwells on the tender, confusing aspects of human connection when normal relationship structures have been destroyed. The themes of memory and longing in “Pink Matter” mirror how Offred constantly returns to thoughts of her past life, her daughter, and what genuine intimacy felt like before Gilead. The song’s dreamy, introspective tone captures that same quality of mental escape that Offred uses to survive, retreating into memory and imagination when the present becomes unbearable. In Gilead, she must navigate relationships where genuine emotion is dangerous with Nick, she wonders if their connection is real , with the Commander she performs interest while feeling revulsion. This mirrors the song’s exploration of what’s genuine in intimate connections. Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQTHB4jM-KQ&list=RDSQTHB4jM-KQ&start_radio=1 The song’s central theme of being unable to drag someone away from a situation resonates with Offred’s powerlessness regarding her lost family and friends. In the times she lives in companionship almost seems forbidden. “ I don’t smile, why tempt her to friendship”She cannot reach her daughter or Luke, no matter how desperately she wants to. There’s that same sense of loving someone but being helpless to change their circumstances or bring them back that permeates the song. The idea of enduring through difficult times connects to Offred’s survival strategy throughout the novel. Like the song suggests about weathering storms and staying strong, Offred must find ways to persist through Gilead’s oppression while maintaining hope that things might eventually change. She has to survive the present while holding onto the possibility of reunion. The theme of graceful acceptance mixed with underlying pain reflects Offred’s complex emotional state. She’s forced to appear compliant while internally grieving her losses. There’s a dignity in continuing on despite heartbreak that both the song and Offred’s character embody.

Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCGD9dT12C0 Little Lies is a perfect song for Offred’s meetings with the commander. The song’s exploration of maintaining pleasant falsehoods to preserve a relationship directly parallels how Offred must navigate her evening visits to the Commander’s study. She pretends to enjoy their games of Scrabble, finds interest in his books and conversation, and performs a kind of companionship that disguises her true feelings of disgust. Just as the song suggests telling “sweet little lies” to keep things comfortable, Offred tells the Commander what he wants to hear. The power dynamic in these meetings reflects the song’s theme of using deception as a survival mechanism. Offred recognizes that the Commander wants to feel like he’s special to her, that their relationship transcends the brutal reality of Gilead. The Commander, for his part, seems to tell himself lies about what these meetings represent. He appears to believe he’s offering Offred something meaningful, maybe even romantic, when he’s actually just another form of her oppression dressed up as kindness. These small pieces of self deception perfectly show the meaning of having mutual little lies in order to keep the peace and remain safe.

Sit Still Look Pretty, Daya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdymkbLAuAk&list=RDIdymkbLAuAk&start_radio=1

When I saw this song title, it reminded me of what the Handmaid’s roles are. The Handmaid’s job is to have kids for the Commanders. If they aren’t able to do that, they get sent away. The unwoman who fights back against the system is what truly represents the lyrics to the song. In the song, it says, “But no, I’m never gonna be ‘cause I don’t wanna be, No, I don’t wanna sit still, look pretty.” The Unwoman didn’t want to just sit there and be used. They wanted to fight back. The lyrics also reminded me of Offred’s mother. Offred’s mother was a feminist who fought back against the system just like the lyrics to the song. Offred’s mother was even in a documentary that was shown to the handmaids.

Fake Love, Drake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz_01KVkOBI&list=RDjz_01KVkOBI&start_radio=1

“Fake Love” reminded me of the relationship between the Commanders and the Handmaids. Their relationship is very fake, and it is fake love during the ceremony. They have no actual relationship or feelings towards each other. The process in which the ceremony is done makes it even more fake because they have to follow specific rules. “Kissing is forbidden between us”(95). All of this causes the Commander’s wife to be upset because she wants to have her own kid. A lyric in the song represents this: “Whole time they wanna take my place.” The commander’s wife wants to have a kid that is actually hers, wanting to take Offred’s place, but only in that situation. Offred would also rather be in the Commander’s wife’s place. She would have more freedoms and have people around her that she loves instead of being all alone with many restrictions.

Good Days, SZA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BdlKkvjEgA&list=RD0BdlKkvjEgA&start_radio=1

“Good Days” made me think of what is going on in Offred’s head. Offred is constantly thinking about her old life. She keeps thinking about Luke and her child. Mentioning how she misses them and her old life. She also has memories involving her old friend Moira. “I dream that I get out of bed and walk across the room, not this room, and get out the door, not this door. I’m at home, one of my homes, and she’s running to meet me, in her small green nightgown with the sunflower on the front, her feet bare, and I pick her up and feel her arms and legs go around m,e and I begin to cry, because I know then that I’m not awake,”(109). Offred is constantly thinking about her old life or the “Good Days”. This lyric from the song sums up what Offred’s mind is like. “Still wanna try, still believe in (good days), good days, always Sunny inside. Good day, living in my mind.”

Love Yourz, J Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tjlU4w4fSo&list=RD6tjlU4w4fSo&start_radio=1

“Love Yourz” also made me think about what is going on in Offred’s head, but in a different way from “Good Days”. As mentioned earlier, Offred is constantly thinking about Luke and her life before she was a Handmaid. She mentions that she is holding out hope that Luke is still alive and that she will see him again. “The things I believe can’t all be true, though one of them must be. But I believe in all of them, all three versions of Luke, at one and the same time,”(106). Offred has the same mindset for her friend Moira. In Chapter 21, she goes around asking for her. Offred holding out hope for her family and friends is the only way that she can look at her life positively. She is trying to love her life. Similar to the song which says: “No such thing as a life better than yours.”

Emotionally Scared, Lil Baby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58I5UeOOhkE&list=RD58I5UeOOhkE&start_radio=1

“Emotionally Scared” made me think about how Offred feels. Offred doesn’t have anyone around her to talk to, and she is forced to live a life that she hates. She is always thinking about her old life in her memories. This causes her to miss it and get upset. She also does the same thing every day and is tired of it. She is even tired of her memories. “I’m too tired to go with this story. I’m too tired to think about where I am,”(129). Offred can’t even think about her old life fully because of how tired she is of everything. One lyric in this song made me think of this quote: “But I’m tired of being tired of being tired”. Offred is struggling emotionally, and she just wants to have someone to love. She is tired of her life and everything that is happening.

I chose to emulate the interactions between Offred, Ofglen, and Japanese tourists through the artistic medium of air-dry clay. Although it was brief, at just under three pages, I was really impressed with this scene because of how it overflows with so many deeper meanings. There are beyond endless ways to perceive even the shortest sentences. Just like how every detail in The Handmaid’s Tale is intentional, I wanted to include that same objective in my own art piece. The tourists stand on the left, each wearing different types of colorful, vibrant clothing. The clay women are wearing multicolored dresses and bright lipstick to represent the freedoms that lie outside of Gilead. They are free to express their identities through what they wear. I also purposefully chose to keep the tourist’s arms sleeveless because of the modest lifestyles that Offred and other Handmaids are forced to live. Along with being forced to dress modestly, Offred’s mind has somewhat conformed to the new norms of her society. “Ofglen stops beside me and I know that she too cannot take her eyes off these women. We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed. It has taken so little time to change our minds about the things like this” (28). Despite her thoughts of retaliation, moments like these remind readers that Offred, amongst the Handmaids, is manipulated as well. Similar to this example, when she mentions her past, she tends to make subtle disapproving and even disappointing remarks about what she used to wear and what she used to do. When she says “We are fascinated, but also repelled,” it made me think about how Janine’s past was addressed. She was forced to listen to her trauma be invalidated through her peers chanting it repeatedly at her. She eventually broke down physically but allowed herself to fall deeper into Gilead’s deception at the same time. Manipulation keeps the Handmaids from regaining their self-worth, it is meant to keep them timid, diffident, and unlikely to retaliate against Guardians or Commanders. I chose to depict this through my artwork by giving the Japanese tourists faces but keeping Offred’s and Ofglen’s bare. This represents the uniformity that Gilead brings to all women. No Handmaid is allowed to have a sense of self, they are seen as objects, all meant to be treated in the same inhumane way. When the interpreter for the tourists (man in all blue) approached Offred and Ofglen, the presence of objectification became more apparent. The way he asked questions then reported back to his group made the interaction comparable to animals at the zoo. He even asks if they could take photos which is why I crafted a small camera. “I can feel their bright black eyes on us, the way they lean a little forward to catch out answers, the forbidden, we excite them” (29). They, similar to the zoo animals, are heavily segregated from the outside population. Margaret Atwood’s intention behind this scene is to emphasize to readers the true severity of the differences and isolation between the Handmaids and the rest of the world.

From the first page of The Handmaid’s Tale, the main character, Offred, blatantly lacks many human rights. She is treated barbarically and almost like an animal. She is degraded as such in the gymnasium. The handmaids are at the very bottom of the Gilliad hierarchy with by far the least rights, authority, and respect. Despite this, they are vital to the continuation of the human race. This leads to an interesting dynamic throughout the story as the handmaids are stripped of their humanity yet protected as royalty. Offred thinks about her complex situation at the beginning of chapter 13, “Like a prized pig” (pg. 69). That she chooses a pig of all animals is meaningful. Pigs, unlike cows or chickens, which produce milk and eggs, are only used for their meat. Offred is also only needed for one thing: to make babies. Other than that, she is treated as swine. In my drawing, Offred is at the center in her handmaid robes. She is in a pig pen surrounded by mud and a wooden fence. Though she is being treated as a pig, she is protected by an armed guard. This is a figurative depiction of Offred’s situation, but also how she has been brainwashed to think of herself. The guard is a very important part of the drawing because he looks out of place at a farm protecting a pig pen. But this is the same as in Gilliad, where handmaids are protected from the outside world because they are vital to the future of mankind, despite having no control over their own, much like a prized pig to a farmer.
Another important element of the art is the pig ball that Offred is kicking around the pen. On page 70, Offred goes into intense detail about what a pig ball is. Through her description, the reader can easily make the connection from the pig ball and the handmaids: “for pigs who were being fattened in pens… the pigs liked to have something to think about.” Offred was “fattened” in the gymnasium, and in the same chapter speaks about her boredom and the disregard she has been given. What makes the pig symbolism even stronger is when, at the end of this paragraph, Offred says, “I wish I had a pig ball.” She has been broken down to a point where, in her mind, even a muddy farm toy would be suitable and entertaining.

“We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.” I liked this quote because of the connection it had to my artpiece and my overall argument. This quote brings up themes of oppression and the search for self-identity within a completely unjust society. The artpiece I created depicts a handmaid wearing a dark red dress, accompanied by a white cone hat that completely covers the majority of her face. The handmaid is shackled by the wrists, as celestial fingers with chains wrapped around them control the maids’ every movement. This drawing symbolizes the loss of identity experienced by the handmaids and shows how the women of Gilead are controlled like puppets under this system. The large hand represents Gilead’s government and the men who wield that almost god like power. The chains around the fingers illustrate an unnatural enforcement of power as the Hand of Gilead decides the Handmaid’s every movement. We can see this theme of bodily control throughout the book, as Gilead has supremacy over one’s every action. The chains that are used to control the handmaid represent the strings used to control a puppet. In this book, Gilead, along with the men in charge, are the puppeteers, as the women are viewed as nothing but puppets to their regime. The handmaid imprisoned by the chains symbolizes all the unjust horrors that the women of Gilead have to go through daily. In the state of Gilead, the color red seems to represent fertility in women. We see that the red dress worn by the handmaid represents their lack of self-identity, as Gilead sees them only for their ability to reproduce. Another key detail that I added was the cone-shaped hat atop the handmaid’s head. This cone hat is worn to promote modesty and isolation among the handmaids, as they are forced to wear the same garments, taking away what little individuality they have left. Now I would like to focus on the faceless figure of the handmaid. Originally, I had planned to add a face, but after further consideration, I chose to leave her face blank to show the handmaid’s loss of self-identity. One of the last details I added was the tape covering the handmaid’s mouth. The tape represents their limited ability to speak and converse amongst each other, offering a stark contrast to the world they once knew. This artwork shows the extreme injustices within the state of Gilead, as this dystopian society uses extreme gender roles that benefit men. The hand of Gilead is also positioned over the head of the handmaiden, further showing the unjust class system within Gilead, as men are on top of the social and political hierarchy. Furthermore, my artpiece captures the essence of the Handmaid’s oppression by the hand of Gilead. This artpiece wasn’t a particular scene within the book, but a symbol of Gilead’s supremacy over the handmaids. I believe that my artwork is significant because it shows how much the lives of handmaidens are controlled, whether it be physically, verbally, or mentally.

While reading “The Handmaid’s Tale” By Margaret Atwood I was able to pinpoint my own emotions that aligned with the protagonist Offred throughout the pages 50, 51, and 52. This small section includes Offred’s space and the thoughts that live there alongside her. She speaks about taking the time and appreciating her room. She is left with a lot of responsibility but even more time. So when she can finally call her room, hers she takes the chance to analyze each corner, and crack in the wall. “There has to be some space, finally, that I claim as mine, even in this time” (50). Offred has finally accepted her room as hers, not just a room. I feel myself through this moment as I am very particular about my space. My room represents me in every which way, and I wouldn’t be able to call in mine unless I truly felt I belonged. I moved from my childhood room to my older brother’s when he went to college. I had a new space and wasn’t sure how to fill it in a way that would make it feel like mine. Over the years I have hung new items from the walls, ceilings, bookshelves, etc. I live under a canopy of pictures, paintings, postcards, and polaroid pictures. All of which make my space, mine. Offred speaks about hotel rooms, the freedom and experience that comes with them and how she regrets not being able to appreciate those moments now. “How I wasted them, those rooms, that freedom from being seen.” (50). There are many moments in my life I look back on and know I will never get to experience again. Like the freedom of being a child, only worrying about my next playdate and what my dad packed in my lunch. I crave the lack of responsibility I had and there are times I wish I could go back to experience that freedom all over again with more appreciation. This feeling is frustrating and when it comes along there isn’t much to do. Offred’s life was taken from her so suddenly, all of her norms disappeared and the freedom she had was ripped from her. Looking back on all she had, she wishes she could go back just to experience it again, with much more gratitude. It’s hard to really acknowledge that the moments we live through are crucial until we eventually know we will never be able to live those memories again. Nostalgia is a very powerful feeling, it’s connected to what we once knew and comes suddenly creating an overwhelming sense of happiness, sadness, grief, and appreciation. It’s something you can find while sitting on the train not giving your mind any boundaries to reminisce, or through smelling the perfume of your preschool teacher on a stranger, or through finding a song you played on repeat during a rough time in your life while your playlist is on shuffle. Offred is left with heaps of time with only memories to keep her entertained, she describes the feeling of nostalgia when thinking about her husband Luke. “I have them, these attacks of the past, like faintness, a wave sweeping over my head” (52). This is what nostalgia feels like to me. Missing something I once had, reminiscing, remembering. The physical emotion makes you want to put a hand over your chest and rest your eyes, feel the moment all over again. While exploring the closet in her small room, Offred finds a message engraved into the hardwood floor. It reads in a language she doesn’t understand, but the pure fact it was there in the first place sent hope coursing through her. “It was intended for whoever came next” (52). Offred believes that this very note was a sign, had a purpose, and was meant to be seen by someone like her. This little bit of hope helps her stay positive. Similarly, I look for things that are small specs of hope in my life. Little signs from the universe. Most likely they are coincidences, chance, or won’t affect me at all. But locking eyes with my lucky number gives me a small pang of comfort. Sometimes it’s nice to take things as a sign, see a message and make it for you. Apply it to your life and give yourself an inside joke.
` There are many ways I could connect to this book, but through this section, going through her thought process I could see myself in the pages. I think in a very similar way and I feel even in this small section where the reader walks through not only Offred’s space but also her mind makes it easy to connect with this part of the character.

In Margaret Atwoods’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the first twenty chapters introduce readers to the rigid, suffocating world of Gilead, a theocracy that polices women’s bodies,identities and memories. Offread, the narrator, survives by holding onto language, memory and humor. Even though music isn’t shown from Gilead’s official culture, I wanted to put together a Kendrick Lamar playlist to represent Gilead. Kendrick is like Gilead because they both show oppression, survival, and identity just like The Handmaid’s own experiences. Five Songs that really stick out to me are “Alright”, “DNA”,” “The Blacker the Berry”, “HUMBLE” and “Swimming Pools(Drank). It serves as an echo of Offred’s voice, showing how her inner resistance grows against the attempts to silence her.

When Offred discovers the Latin phrase that was scratched into the wall (Nolite te bastardes carborundorum) she sees it as a lifeline. She admits, “It pleases me to ponder this message. It pleases me to think I am communicating with her, this unknown woman”(Page 52). The phrase becomes a way of asserting that she can survive even in secrecy. Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” echoes this mood of hope. In the song he repeatedly says “We gon be alright.” Like Offred, it is a line that offers survival against all odds, not by denying any struggles or hardships but by naming it and pushing forward anyway. Both the song and the line scratched in the line shows despair through a rhythm and repetition, a beat, a phrase, and sign of persistence.

One of Gilead’s most cruel tactics is stripping women of their names and replacing them with nicknames (like Offred). Yet Offred insists on remembering who she once was: a mother, a wife, a friend. She recalls her daughter’s smile, her friend Moria’s daring and every small detail of her old life.” I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance”(Page 39). Kendrick Lamar’s DNA shows identity that can’t be erased. “I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA.” The lyrics show that no matter what the outside attempts to define or confine him, For Offred, her memories function as her DNA Gilead can rename her, but not memories of her past, her Luke, her Maria or her daughter can’t be erased. In both the novel and song, the inner theme is Identity.

In Chapter 13, the Handlaids attend a grotesque “Testifying” where a woman named Janine is forced to recount being gang-raped. Instead of sympathy, Aunt Lynda instructs the Handmaids to chant “Her Fault, her fault,her fault”(Page 72). This moment symbolizes the system’s cruelty and how women are dehumanized and reduced to their sexual functions. Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker the Berry” voices raw anger at systematic oppression. “You hate me, don’t you? You have my people, your plan is to terminate my culture.9 The intensity of the song resonates with the Handmaids reality. Just as Kendrick Lamar exposes the hypocrisy of a society that blames and punishes marginalized people for their suffering, Atwood shows a regime where women are blamed for the violence committed against them. Both works demand recognition of systematic brutality.

“Blessed are the meek,” Aunt Lyndua tells the handmaids,twisting scripture into a weapon(Page 33) Offred notes that the incompleteness of the command “she didn’t say anything about inheriting the earth.” Meekness in Gilead is not voluntary; it is enforced through punishment,surveillance, and ritual. Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE” becomes ironic in this setting. The song “Sit down, be humble” mirrors the way Gilead insists on silencing women. While Kendrick uses it as a provocation, in Gilead, in Gilead the phrase becomes a demand for total submission. Read against Aunt Lyndua’s sermons, the track underscores the performance of humility that the Handmaids are forced to embody.

Offred normally retreats into her memories of life before Gilead, even when they pain her. When she recalls Luke or her daughter, she admits, “When I think about having sex with Luke, I remember feeling, not love so much as relief”(Page 68). These mental escapes are her form of intoxication: they show the constant terror of her present. Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools(Drank)” explores the temptation of drowning one’s pain in alcohol: “Why you babysitting only two or three shots? Ima show you how to turn it up a notch.” While Offred has no actual alcohol, her imagination and memory function as her coping mechanism, her drink. Like Kendrick, she recognizes both the relief and danger of this form of escape

Together, both Kendrick Lamar and The handmaid’s tail remind us that even in the darkest systems, rhythms and resistance endure, there are always survival ways and survival strategies.

Kendrick Lamar Songs Names Alright DNA. HUMBLE. Swimming Pools (Drank) The Blacker the Berry